Explain five causes of food shortages in Africa today.

Explain five causes of food shortages in Africa today

• Many parts of Africa experience little or no rain at all over several years leading to crop failure arid hence food shortages/natural hazards.
• The rapid population growth rate has overtaken food production rate resulting into food shortages.
• Inadequate/food storage facilities had contributed to  food wastage as farmers cannot store food for a long period. 
• Poor state of roads in many African countries hinders transportation of food from the areas of surplus to those of deficit. 
• Low prices of food stuff has discouraged many farmers who may have invested so much capital leading to food shortages.
• Many farmers in Africa lack enough capital to buy required farm inputs and therefore do not undertake modem farming methods leading to low food production
• Due to crop diseases and pests, a lot of food is destroyed  either on the farms or in stores resulting to food shortages.
• The emphasis on cash crop fanning at the expense of food  crops has contributed to low food production leading to food shortages. 
• Environmental degradation through deforestation I overgrazing of animals has led to soil erosion leading to wasteland, hence low food production/desertification
• Civil wars in many African countries have displaced people from their farms and therefore diverted their attention from farming resulting in food shortages.
• Poor food policies have discouraged farmers as they are not given enough incentives in case of crop failure.
• The young able-bodied persons migrate to urban centers  thus leaving farming to the aged who are not able to contribute much towards food production. 
• HIV and AIDS pandemic has impacted negatively on the labour force in food production. 
• Poor land tenure system /land fragmentation has reduced  the acreage that would have been used for food production.
• Many farmers have abandoned the growing of drought resistant crops which would be used in times of food scarcity. 
• Over-reliance/dependence on famine relief food and other forms of aid has made people not to look for permanent solutions to food shortages.
• Lack of modem farming methods